Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?
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If I believed in heaven, there are sure alot of people I wouldn't want to have to
see again
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SoCalLisa, so true!
Does anybody else have a problem not capitalizing heaven and other things just from years of being ingrained to do so?
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Not so much anymore ... if I'm posting in a mixed group, I'll capitalize god out of respect for the believers.
Bren
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Ah so there's hope. It just seems weird to me that I still do that with god, heaven, and hell unless I slow myself down and think and it's been about three years since I gave up trying to believe.....and lots of years of struggling with it.
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raeinnz: I'm so sorry your country is having to cope with another earthquake. Keeping you in my thoughts. New Zealand is a fabulously beautiful country with warm, welcoming people.
I too usually capitalise God, but not the others, also to avoid offense. Although usually believers don't seem to worry about offending me.
In a Huff Post article Einstein was quoted. 'After the death of his old friend, Albert Einstein said "Now Besso has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us...know that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." ' So was Einstein possibly cultivating the "singularity" theory?
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I find it offensive that Western believers capitalize god, but when referring to the deities of Hindu believers these same Westerners use a lower case spelling.
When talking to any believer, I use "your god" or "the god". I will use capital letters when referring to the names of deities or organization. Baptist is capitalized. The deity is not unless this deity is referred to by name such as Jesus or Shiva.
I have the opinion that capitalizing the word god indicates a subtle belief and just encourages the believer into think there might be a possibility of rescuing me from my godless life.
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hey I am trying this on my kindle
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guess it worked
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Yes it did.
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Way to go Lisa! You're years ahead of me with all this new technology!
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that is very cool
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I'm considering getting one too. How do you think you'll like it? Have you downloaded any books or mags yet?
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I usually take my cue re capitalizing or not from those I am corresponding with as a mark of respect for their beliefs. If they capitalize I capitalize, if not I don't and I guess because I have a very Christian friend I am in the habit of capitalizing more often than not hence my capital in 'Heaven'. I understand your comment notself, but if you were asked, English language rules dictate that proper nouns (including names) should be capitalized so capitalizing religious names could be explained as respecting language rules rather than expressing any belief in the religious system associated with the name
- that would have them thinking for a while eh?Thank you for your sympathies re the earthquake. We are a country of only 4.3 million people and everyone knows someone or knows someone who knows someone who has been affected by this latest tragedy so we are all reeling a bit. I have no family down there and my friends are fine but I have found it particularly hard this time as there have been significant deaths and I'm sure a lot of people feel as you American ladies would have after 9/11 - shock, disbelief and just helplessness at being unable to help or comfort those who have lost family. The city will rebuild and recover but it will be a very long haul this time.
Lisa - I think there is quite a lot of your father's genius in you - your photography is wonderful to see and you seem to have a knack with technology - I thought Kindle was just for downloading and reading books
I am still in the dark ages re computers - I love my desk top and am resisting my very techno minded DHs attempts to buy me a laptop. Don't like the small screen, don't like the jammed up keys, don't need to take it with me - just don't like and don't want! ... but you can take it with you when you go places and it has so much more memory and RAM so it will work faster (well, that does appeal) and.... but all in all no thanks. Call me a dinosaur all you want - no thanks! - lol0 -
I don't think god is a proper noun since it is not always capitalized. It's just like the word church. Catholics capitalize the word if it is preceeded by the article "the" and do not capitalize it when it is not. I do capitalize all proper nouns.
Dog is a common noun. Rover is a proper noun. Proper nouns are names that are always written with an initial capital letter.
I think part of my reason for not capitalizing god has to do with living in an area of the country where Christian beliefs are shoved down ones throat. The few atheists I know are all afraid to come out because they fear retaliation. And, yes, their fears are justified.
When I am on forums or responding to proselytizing emails, I feel that not capitalizing god is a way of exerting my rights as a citizen and just perhaps making people think. I find it interesting that no believer has ever mentioned it and I occasionally post on religious boards.
Raeinnz,
The feelings of loss must be overwhelming for your wonderful county. I am so sorry.
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Here's a nice one: Acts of compassion are eternal;
they live forever shining their rays
throughout the Universe.
- Chogyam Trungpa
Anatta (notself) and others - out of curiosity I looked through a couple of my books and in Jesus and the Buddha as Brothers by Thich Nhat Hanh he capitalizes god - but I guess that's out of respect, given the topic. And IMHO of course they were brothers. Same enlightenment & message, different cultures. Jesus born into Romans and Jews, generally misunderstood, persecuted - but the Buddha, born into a more gentle culture full of people looking for an end to maya, a revered and well-understood teacher, whose word were memorized to pass unadulterated for centuries.....
Would Buddhists capitalize Dharma sometimes but not others? depending on which Dharma you are referring to--I'm sorry you live in such a fundamentalist population - not so here, no shoving of religion down anyone's throats, as far as I can tell
May you all be happy today
Arlene
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In the translations I have read, Dhamma/Dharma is capitalized; kamma/karma is not capitalized.
I will start capitalizing the word god when Western believers start capitalizing the word gods as in "two of the Gods worshipped by Hindus are Shiva and Krishna."
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deleted because it was thought to be inappropriate. Didn't know that it was.
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This seems inappropriate for this thread.
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It seems that I started something that I really didn't mean to start up. I was just curious about my own idiosyncrasies. Coincidentally I have always capitalized gods of all religions i.e. Shiva et al. It just seems to be a hard habit for me to break. But maybe it isn't of much significance since I would do it for all gods - not a preference for, or belief in any one.
Flannelette, thank you for today's quote. I have missed them. I hope that your visit with your sister went well.
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thanks River Rat - yes, it did, mysis is 86 and an amputee and scared s*****s she was going to lose the other leg, but not so. It was a serious infection called cellulitis which needed antibiotics. She's amazing. Now at a rehab hospital that is quite pleasant as it was once a TB sanitorium smack in the middle of Toronto, yet hidden away in extensive tree-covered grounds.
And i got tospend time with my niece - close to my age. Nothing like familiar, warm, family where we put on our pjs the minute we get home and cook supper in comfort!
Hi Maya 2 - I must be missing something - what is inappropriate for this thread?
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This is the missing link. It is a religious/spiritual radio show about men of the cloth who no longer believe in their god. I didn't ask lassie11 to remove it, it just wasn't my thing. I even listened to most of it. I am not "lost" as the host began her intro.
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I saw the link in another thread and read it and thought it was very interesting.
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I'm not sure if I qualify to post here. I became an atheist at age 16 after becoming confirmed into my religion and deciding it was time I read 'the book' from the beginning. I couldn't believe the words and deeds attributed to the so-called 'god' and was angry that so many intelligent and influential people had glossed over this part of the book and only told the whitewashed version.
That anger and extreme atheism lasted for decades but I did get over it and after being a strong follower of self-help literature for most of my life I realised how the eastern religions had discovered and incorporated many excellent practices into their religion. People like the Dalai Lama and Gandhi seemed to practice what they preached and didn't fight wars in the name of god. I am now accepting of most religions but still get frustrated when harm is done in the name of some god.
So I guess I am "new age" now and aim to increase my acceptance and compassion towards myself and others. I don't believe in a god but believe we are all part of the same energy, love, spirit, whatever you care to call it. Decades ago that would have sounded just as illogical as western religious beliefs to me so I try to avoid speaking of my beliefs around those who might be offended. So please let me know if my beliefs would offend anyone here.
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You are very welcome Sheila. I have read your posts elsewhere and think you are a very interesting and thoughful person.
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Most religions and philosophies have some glimmer of
generalities that make sense..they have to explain
the unknown and maintain social control....
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Sheila,
I read the Bible around the same age as you. I read it cover to cover including all of the explanatory footnotes. After I was done, I thought what a violent and inconsistent story. This evangelical site claims that 90% of Christians have never read the bible.
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Sheila, so glad you posted - there are lots of different varieties of disbelief (and belief) on this thread. I think the only thing that would offend most of us is dogmatism.
Linda
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Sheila - Well put, I couldn't agree more - we are all part of the same energy/love/spirit.....but we are mostly all culturally brainwashed to believe otherwise..I didn't have much "brainwashing" and just kind of flopped around until I began taking courses in eastern traditions at university, which actually explained a profound "transcendental".experience I'd once had, one of the central experiences of my life. so I found a comfortable place to be, spiritually, and it just gradually keeps unfolding..I learned that there are spiritual traditions that are atheistic - which means no creator god....but deeply spiritual, nonetheless. Very satisfying.
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Welcome Sheila. I've tended to go east myself and consider Buddhism more philosophical than religion, but tend to work out my issues with meditative time in nature.
I agree with Lisa, maintaining control is imperative to most religions. And I'll add, keeping the coffers full. Sadly, I feel that is the main objective.
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Thanks everyone for your warm welcome.
One of the main ideas that has fascinated me for a decade is our concept of self. Some call it the ego but that word is misused too much for my liking. We all identify with many things as if they define us. Country of birth, family, education, job, religion, values, fashion sense, interests, home and posessions, the list is endless. When someone questions or insults something we are strongly attached to, we can become offended, upset or enraged and we all know wars are fought over these things.
When I first read about the Buddhist idea of attachments, I thought they meant possessions, but now I realise they mean anything. Yet when I visited a Buddhist temple I saw they were attached to many rituals and rules, some of which were printed on lists on the walls, so I don't know what to think about that. Laughter was one of the forbidden activities and women had a lower status. Shame, as I love most things about Buddhism.
Well they say that meditation is one of the ways to enlightenment and when devout Buddhist monks have meditated in fMRI machines they have shown that the happiness area in their brain is massive, even when being shown violent images and when not meditating. No other subjects have lit up that area of the brain to that extent. People who are depressed have large areas of the brain lighting up in the opposite area of the brain that relates to unhappiness. So I do believe, whether there is some spiritual component or not, that getting happy and dropping our ego is the answer to our mental and maybe our physical health.
I've read a lot of material that proposes how to achieve happiness. Being "positive" is not the answer if it means burying our emotions. Various things can trigger those stored feelings so it seems they don't leave us without some sort of process. I think it's a gradual process. For example we can move from really angry to less angry, but moving to happiness from a bad place is not possible or not sustainable. I've been trying to learn a method of letting go of stored emotions but I'm not very practical and so far it hasn't helped. I am hopeful though that I will relax into it more.
Just some more ramblings from an overactive brain!
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